4 CIVIL ACTION COMPLAINT (2P-Product Liability) NOW COMES the Plaintiff, Anthony DiBattista, by and through his undersigned attorneys, JACOBS & CRUMPLAR, P.A. and THE D ONOFRIO FIRM, LLC, who herein file this Civil Action Complaint and bring this civil action against the above-captioned Defendants based upon the predicate facts, causes of action, and demands for relief set forth in the Counts below. Plaintiff avers the following: PARTIES 1. Plaintiff, Anthony DiBattista, at all times relevant hereto, was, and currently is, a resident and citizen of the State of Delaware. 2. Defendant, JANSSEN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, LLC f/k/a JOHNSON AND JOHNSON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LLC (hereinafter Janssen R & D ), is a limited liability company organized, under the laws of New Jersey, with headquarters and a principal place of business located at One Johnson & Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, New Jersey Janssen R & D s sole principal or member is Centocor Research Development, Inc., (hereinafter Centocor ) a Pennsylvania corporation with its principal place of business and nerve center located at 200 Great Valley Parkway, Malvern, Pennsylvania. Centocor is a subsidiary or division of Johnson & Johnson, and has locations involved in the research, design, marketing, sale, and distribution of Xarelto in Horsham, Malvern, Radnor and Ambler, Pennsylvania. 3. Defendant, Janssen R & D, is the holder of the approved New Drug Application ( NDA ) for the pharmaceutical prescription drug, Xarelto, as well as the supplemental NDA for Xarelto. 4

5 4. At all times relevant hereto, Janssen R & D was and still is a pharmaceutical company involved in the research, development, sales, marketing and promotion of pharmaceutical products, including Xarelto and rivaroxaban, as set forth herein. 5. At all times relevant hereto, Janssen R & D, and its predecessors-in-interest regularly conducted and continue to regularly conduct substantial business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and within Philadelphia County, which included and continues to include, the research, manufacture, sale, distribution and marketing of Xarelto, which is distributed through the stream of interstate commerce into Pennsylvania and Philadelphia County. 6. Further, Janssen R & D, maintains significant offices and a place of business in Spring House, Pennsylvania and Exton, Pennsylvania. 7. Defendant, JANSSEN ORTHO, LLC (hereinafter Janssen Ortho ) is a Delaware limited liability company with headquarters and a principal place of business at Bo. Mamey, Carr. 933 Km 0.1, Gurabo, Puerto Rico Janssen Ortho is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. 8. At all times relevant hereto, Defendant Janssen Ortho manufactured and continues to manufacture Xarelto and had responsibility for the design, manufacture, sale, distribution marketing, promotion, post-marketing surveillance, pharmacovigilance, labeling and detailing of Xarelto. In fact, the Prescribing Information for the Xarelto specifically states, Finished Product Manufactured by Janssen Ortho, LLC, Gurabo, PR At all times relevant hereto, Janssen Ortho regularly conducted and continues to regularly conduct substantial business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and within Philadelphia County, which included and continues to include, the research, manufacture, sale, 5

6 distribution and marketing of Xarelto, which is distributed through the stream of interstate commerce into Pennsylvania and Philadelphia County. 10. Defendant, JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. f/k/a JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICA INC., f/k/a ORTHO-MCNEIL-JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (hereinafter Janssen ), is a corporation organized according to and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with headquarters and a principal place of business at 420 Delaware Drive, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, 19034, among other places,. 11. At all times relevant hereto, Janssen was, and still is, a pharmaceutical company involved in the manufacturing, research, development, marketing, distribution, promotion, sale, and release for use to the general public of pharmaceuticals, including Xarelto. 12. At all times relevant hereto, Janssen had and continues to have a principal place of business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and regularly conducted and continues to regularly conduct substantial business within Philadelphia County, which included and continues to include, the research, manufacture, sale, distribution and marketing of Xarelto, which is distributed through the stream of interstate commerce into Pennsylvania and Philadelphia County. 13. Defendant, JOHNSON & JOHNSON (hereinafter J&J ), is a fictitious name adopted by Defendant JOHNSON & JOHNSON COMPANY, a New Jersey corporation which has its principal place of business at One Johnson & Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey At all times relevant hereto, Defendant JOHNSON & JOHNSON, had responsibility for the design, development, manufacture, testing, packaging, promotion, 6

7 marketing, distribution, labeling, selling, post-market surveillance and/or pharmacovigilance Xarelto. 15. At all times relevant hereto, Johnson & Johnson, regularly conducted and continues to regularly conduct substantial business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and within Philadelphia County, which included and continues to include, the research, manufacture, sale, distribution and marketing of Xarelto, which is distributed through the stream of interstate commerce into Pennsylvania and Philadelphia County. 16. Defendant, BAYER AG (hereinafter Bayer AG ), is a German pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and is the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world. 17. Defendant, Bayer, AG is the parent/holding company of Defendants, Bayer Corporation, Bayer Healthcare, LLC and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 18. At all times material hereto, Defendant, Bayer AG, transacted and conducted business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and has derived substantial revenue and profits from interstate commerce throughout the United States. 19. Defendant, BAYER PHARMA AG, is a German pharmaceutical company. Defendant, Bayer Pharma AG if formerly known as Bayer Shering Pharma AG and is the same corporate entity as Bayer Shering Pharma AG. Bayer Shering Pharma AG is formerly known as Schering AG and is the same corporate entity as Shering AG. Upon information and belief, Shering AG was renamed Bayer Shering Pharma AG and Bayer Shering Pharma AG was subsequently renamed Bayer Pharma AG. 20. Defendant, Bayer Pharma AG is involved in the research, development, sales, and marketing of pharmaceutical products including Xarelto and rivaroxaban. 7

8 21. Defendant, BAYER HEALTHCARE AG is a German company and is the parent/holding company of Defendants, Bayer Corporation, Bayer Healthcare LLC, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer Pharma AG. Upon information and belief, at all times relevant hereto, Defendant, Bayer Healthcare AG exercises dominion and control over Defendants, Bayer Corporation, Bayer Healthcare LLC, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer Pharma AG. 22. Defendant, BAYER CORPORATION (hereinafter Bayer Corp. ) is, and at all times relevant was and remains, an Indiana corporation with its nerve center, headquarters and principal place of business at 100 Bayer Road Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 23. Upon information and belief, Defendant, Bayer Corp., is the sole member of Bayer Healthcare, which owns 100% of Schering Berlin, Inc., which owns 100% of Defendant, Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Accordingly, Defendant, Bayer Corp., is a parent of Defendant, Bayer Pharmaceuticals. 24. At all times relevant hereto, Bayer Corp., regularly conducted and continues to regularly conduct substantial business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and within Philadelphia County, which included and continues to include, the research, manufacture, sale, distribution and marketing of Xarelto, which is distributed through the stream of interstate commerce into Pennsylvania and Philadelphia County. 25. Defendant, BAYER HEALTHCARE LLC (hereinafter Bayer Healthcare ) is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal places of business located at 100 Bayer Road, Whippany NJ, At all times relevant hereto, Bayer Healthcare, regularly conducted and continues to regularly conduct substantial business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and within 8

9 Philadelphia County, which included and continues to include, the research, manufacture, sale, distribution and marketing of Xarelto, which is distributed through the stream of interstate commerce into Pennsylvania and Philadelphia County. 27. Upon information and belief, Bayer Healthcare s sole member is Defendant, Bayer Corp. which controls from its headquarters in Pittsburgh PA. 28. Bayer Healthcare is a subsidiary of Bayer AG and jointly developed Xarelto with J&J and Janssen R & D. 29. Bayer AG s cooperative partner, J&J and Janssen R & D, submitted the new drug application for Xarelto to the FDA. 30. Defendant, BAYER HEALTHCARE PHARMACEUTICALS INC. ( Bayer Pharmaceuticals ) is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with its principal place of business in 100 Bayer Road, Whippany NJ, Bayer Pharmaceuticals is the U.S.-based pharmaceuticals operation of Bayer Healthcare, a division of Bayer Corp. 32. Bayer Pharmaceuticals is a subsidiary of Bayer Corp. and jointly developed, marketed and distributed Xarelto with J&J and Janssen R & D. At all times relevant and material hereto, Bayer Pharma was, and still is, a pharmaceutical company involved in the manufacturing, distribution, sale, and release for use to the general public of pharmaceuticals, including Xarelto in Philadelphia County, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. 33. Defendants, Janssen R & D, J&J, Ortho, Janssen, Bayer Corp., Bayer AG, Bayer Healthcare AG, Bayer Pharma AG, Bayer Healthcare, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals shall be referred to herein individually by name or jointly as Defendants. 9

10 34. At all times alleged herein, Defendants shall include any and all named or unnamed parent companies, parent corporations, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, franchises, partners, joint venturers, and any organizational units of any kind, their predecessors, successors, successors in interest, assignees, and their officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives and any and all other persons acting on their behalf. 35. At all times herein mentioned, each of the Defendants was the agent, servant, partner, predecessor in interest, aider and abettor, co-conspirator, and joint venturer of each of the remaining Defendants herein. 36. At all times herein mentioned, each of the Defendants was the agent, servant, partner, predecessor in interest, aider and abettor, co-conspirator, and joint venturer of each of the remaining Defendants thereby operating and acting with the purpose and scope of said agency, service, employment, partnership, conspiracy and joint venture. 37. At all times relevant and material hereto, Defendants were engaged in the business of researching, developing, designing, licensing, manufacturing, testing, distributing, selling, labeling, marketing, promoting, advertising, and/or introducing into interstate commerce throughout the United States, and in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, either directly or indirectly, through third-parties, subsidiaries and/or related entities, the anti-coagulant pharmaceutical Xarelto for the following indications: a. to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation; b. to treat deep vein thrombosis ( DVT ) and pulmonary embolism ( PE ) c. to reduce the risk of recurrence of DVT and PE; and d. prophylaxis of DVT in patients undergoing hip and/or knee replacement orthopedic surgical procedures. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 10

11 38. Jurisdiction is proper over the Defendants based on 42 Pa. C.S.A This Court has proper jurisdiction over Defendant, Janssen, which is a citizen and resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 40. This Court has personal jurisdiction over the Defendants pursuant to, and consistent with, Pennsylvania s long-arm statute (42 Pa.C.S. 5322) and both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania s and Federal Constitutional requirements of Due Process in so far that Defendants, acting through agents or apparent agents, committed one or more of the following: a. Defendants transacted, and continue to transact, business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 42 Pa.C.S (a)(1), and conducted, and regularly conduct business, receive substantial revenues, and sell and perform services in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania; b. Defendants have an interest in, uses, or possess real property in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 42 Pa.C.S (a)(5); c. Requiring Defendants to litigate this claim in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice and is permitted by the United States Constitution. 41. This action is brought under the common law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Laws to recover damages and other relief, including the costs of suit, and reasonable attorneys and expert fees, to compensate Plaintiff for injuries sustained as a result of the Defendants negligent and wrongful conduct in connection with the design, development, manufacture, testing, packaging, promoting, marketing, distributing, labeling and/or the sale of Xarelto. 42. Venue is proper in this County pursuant to Pa. R.C.P. No. 2179, which provides, in relevant part, that a personal action against a corporation or similar entity may be brought in and only in (1) the county where its registered office or principal place of business is located; 11

12 [or] (2) a county where it regularly conducts business, because all of the Defendants regularly conduct business in Philadelphia County. 43. This is an action for damages, exclusive of interest and costs, which exceeds the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00). NATURE OF THE CASE GENERAL ALLEGATIONS 44. Xarelto is the trade name for rivaroxaban. 45. Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is an oxazolidinone derivative optimized for inhibiting both free Factor Xa and Factor Xa bound in the prothrombinase complex. 46. Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is a highly selective direct Factor Xa inhibitor with oral bioavailability and rapid onset of action. 47. Inhibition of Factor Xa interrupts the intrinsic and extrinsic pathway of the blood coagulation cascade, inhibiting both thrombin formation and development of thrombi. Xarelto (rivaroxaban) does not inhibit thrombin (activated Factor II). 48. Xarelto is an oral anticoagulant that is available by prescription in oral tablet doses of 20mg, 15mg and 10mg. 49. Defendants, directly or by and through their agents, apparent agents, servants or employees designed, manufactured, researched, tested, advertised, promoted, marketed, labeled, sold, and distributed Xarelto as an anti-coagulant primarily used to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, to treat deep vein thrombosis ( DVT ) and pulmonary embolisms ( PE ), and/or to reduce the risk of recurrence of DVT and or PE and for prophylaxis of DVT for patients undergoing hip and/or knee replacement surgery. 50. The Janssen Defendants applied for an initial New Drug Application (hereinafter NDA ) for Xarelto in July of

13 51. Xarelto was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (hereinafter FDA ) on July 1, 2011, to reduce risk of blood clots, DVT, and PE following knee and/or hip replacement surgery. (NDA #022406). 52. Defendants received additional FDA approval on November 4, 2011, when Xarelto was approved to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. (NDA #202439). 53. On November 2, 2012 the FDA approved the expanded clinical use of Xarelto to treat of patients with DVT and PE as well as long-term treatment to prevent recurrence of the same. 54. Defendants launched the Xarelto product in the United States (hereinafter U.S. ) in The initial approval of Xarelto for the prophylaxis of DVT and PE in patients undergoing hip replacement or knee replacement surgeries was based on a series of clinical trials known as the Regulation of Coagulation in Orthopedic Surgery to Prevent Deep Venous Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism studies (hereinafter RECORD studies). 56. The findings of the RECORD studies showed that rivaroxaban was superior to enoxaparin for thromboprophylaxis after total knee and hip arthroplasty (based on the Defendants definition), and that use of these two treatments was accompanied by similar rates of bleeding. 57. However, the RECORD studies also showed a greater incidence of bleeding, with Xarelto, leading to decreased hemoglobin levels and the need for blood transfusion. 1 1 Lassen, M.R., et al. Rivaroxaban versus Enoxaparin for Thromboprophylaxis after Total Knee Arthroplasty. N.Engl.J.Med. 2008; 358: ; Kakkar, A.K., et al 13

14 58. The FDA approval of Xarelto for reducing the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation in the U.S. was based on a clinical trial known as the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation study (hereinafter ROCKET AF study). 59. The ROCKET AF study s findings showed that rivaroxaban was noninferior to warfarin for the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, with a similar risk of major bleeding. However, bleeding from gastrointestinal sites, including upper, lower, and rectal sites, occurred more frequently in the rivaroxaban group, as did bleeding that led to a drop in the hemoglobin level or bleeding that required transfusion Approval of Xarelto for the treatment of DVT and/or PE and the reduction in recurrence of DVT and/or PE in the U.S. was based on the clinical trials known as the EINSTEIN-DVT, EINSTEIN-PE, and EINSTEIN-Extension studies (hereinafter collectively referred to as EINSTEIN studies). 61. The EINSTEIN-DVT study tested Xarelto versus a placebo, and merely determined that Xarelto offered an option for treatment of DVT, with obvious increased risk of bleeding events as compared to placebo The EINSTEIN-Extension study confirmed that result The EINSTEIN-PE study's findings showed that a rivaroxaban regimen was noninferior to the standard therapy for initial and long-term treatment of PE. However, the studies 2 Patel, M.R., et al. Rivaroxaban versus Warfarin in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation. N.Engl.J.Med. 2011; 365: The EINSTEIN Investigators. Oral Rivaroxaban for Symptomatic Venous Thromboembolism. N.Engl.J.Med. 2010; 363: Roumualdi, E., et al. Oral rivaroxaban after symptomatic venous thromboembolism: the continued treatment study (EINSTEIN-Extension study). Expert Rev. Cardiovasc. Ther. 2011; 9(7):

15 also demonstrated an increased risk of adverse events with Xarelto, including those that resulted in permanent discontinuation of Xarelto or prolonged hospitalization Defendants used the results of the ROCKET AF study, the RECORD studies and the EINSTEIN studies to promote Xarelto in their promotional and marketing materials, including the Xarelto website, which tout the positive results of those studies. 65. However, Defendants marketing and promotional materials failed to similarly highlight the increased risk set forth in the results of the ROCKET AF, RECORD and EINSTEIN studies of gastrointestinal bleeding and bleeding that required blood transfusions, among other serious bleeding concerns. 66. Defendants zealously marketed and continue to market Xarelto as a new oral anticoagulant treatment alternative to Coumadin (warfarin), which has a long-established history as a safe and effective treatment for preventing stroke, systemic embolism, DVT and PE. 67. Coumadin can be carefully monitored and dose-adjusted by way of regular, routine monitoring of the prothrombin time ( PT ) and International Normalization Ratio ( INR ). Additionally, unlike Xarelto, which has no publicly known antidote, the anticoagulation effects of Coumadin are reversible with the administration of vitamin K and/or the administration of coagulation factors such as fresh frozen plasma. 68. Defendants emphasize the purported benefits of treatment with Xarelto over Coumadin, which they refer to as The Xarelto Difference, claiming that Xarelto requires no regular blood monitoring and has no known dietary restrictions, thereby allowing Xarelto 5 The EINSTEIN-PE Investigators. Oral Rivaroxaban for the Treatment of Symptomatic Pulmonary Embolism. N.Engl.J.Med. 2012; 366:

16 users to spend time doing the things [they] enjoy and continue to eat the healthy foods [they] like According to the Defendants marketing and informational materials, referenced in the paragraphs below, and widely disseminated to the consuming public, Xarelto is the first and only once-a day prescription blood thinner for patients with AFib not caused by a heart valve problem, that is proven to reduce the risk of stroke without routine blood monitoring As the Defendants state on their website, XARELTO has been proven to lower the chance of having a stroke if you have atrial fibrillation (AFib), not caused by a heart valve problem. XARELTO is an anticoagulant, or blood-thinning medicine that works by helping to keep blood clots from forming Defendants also claimed that Xarelto begins working a few hours after you start taking it, and keeps working for as long as take it Defendants claim that patients with AFib are five times more likely than a person without Afib to suffer from a stroke and that disability is more likely to be severe and the outcome is almost twice as likely to be fatal and the chances of having another major stroke go up Defendants further declare that XARELTO is proven to help treat and prevent DVT and PE blood clots and that Xarelto reduc[es] the risk of these dangerous clots [from] happening again See 7 WarningLettersandNoticeofViolationLetterstoPharmaceuticalCompanies/UCM pdf 8 https://www.xarelto-us.com/how-xarelto-works

17 74. Defendants claim that patients with AFib, DVT, or PE taking Xarelto do not need regular blood monitoring and there are no known dietary restrictions. In addition, patients with AFib only need to take Xarelto once a day with an evening meal In marketing and promoting Xarelto, Defendants widely disseminated direct-toconsumer advertising campaigns that were designed to influence patients, including the Plaintiff, to make inquiries to their prescribing physician about Xarelto and/or to request prescriptions for Xarelto. 76. In the course of these direct-to-consumer advertisements, the Defendants touted Xarelto as an easy to use, once a day pill with no required monitoring and overstated the efficacy of Xarelto with respect to preventing stroke and systemic pulmonary embolism and failed to adequately disclose to patients that there is no drug, agent or means to reverse the anticoagulation effects of Xarelto and that such irreversibility could have life-threatening and fatal consequences. 77. In this regard, in the January/February 2013 issue of WebMD magazine, Defendants placed a print advertisement that resulted in the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) of the FDA to send an untitled letter declaring that the Xarelto print advertisement was false or misleading because it minimizes the risks associated with Xarelto and makes a misleading claim. Furthermore, the advertisement states there are no dosage adjustments in conflict with the product labeling approved by the FDA and and WarningLettersandNoticeofViolationLetterstoPharmaceuticalCompanies/UCM pdf 13 WarningLettersandNoticeofViolationLetterstoPharmaceuticalCompanies/UCM pdf, June 6, 2013 FDA Untitled Warning Letter 17

18 78. Defendants routinely and aggressively marketed Xarelto as a one size fits all drug and in their intense marketing of Xarelto, Defendants misinformed patients and their healthcare providers as to the necessity to routinely monitor any patient requiring a blood thinning agent. 79. The Defendants marketing materials suggest that Xarelto represents a therapeutic simplification and therapeutic progress of anticoagulation therapy because it does not require dosage adjustments, does not requires patients to undergo periodic monitoring with blood tests and because there were no dietary restrictions. 80. In essence, the Defendants created a new drug, Xarelto, which is not better than warfarin from a safety perspective, and marketed it as a once a day pill that required no routine monitoring. The idea of this apparently easier-to-use anticoagulant evidently appealed to physicians, who were subject to extreme marketing and promotion by the Defendants, but ignores patient safety. 81. In its QuarterWatch publication for the first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices ( ISMP ) noted that, even during the approval process, FDA [r]eviewers also questioned the convenient once-a-day dosing scheme [of Xarelto], saying blood level studies had shown peaks and troughs that could be eliminated by twice-a-day dosing These peaks expose Xarelto users to unreasonable risks for spontaneous bleeding for which there is no antidote or reversal agent. 83. Further, the ISMP noted that the primary reported adverse event related to Xarelto use was not the well understood risk of hemorrhage. Instead, the largest identifiable category 14 at 22 18

19 was serious blood-clot related injury most frequently pulmonary embolism the very events rivaroxaban is intended to prevent Importantly, the ISMP noted that: A clinical trial with 14,000 patients had shown that rivaroxaban was no worse than warfarin. [40] But reviewers noted that warfarin had not been optimally used. If rivaroxaban were really inferior to optimally used warfarin but this was not proven, only suspected its use could lead to increased death and injury. [41] Reviewers also questioned the convenient once-a-day dosing scheme, saying blood level studies had shown peaks and troughs that could be eliminated by twice-a-day dosing. As with other anticoagulants, the rate of clinically relevant bleeding in clinical studies was high 15% per year of treatment. 16 In other words, the insufficient testing conducted and the deadly consequences of Xarelto did not go unnoticed. 85. Even more significantly, in the first quarter of 2012, The ISMP identified 356 reports of serious, disabling, or fatal injury in which rivaroxaban was the primary suspect drug. The report more than doubled from the previous quarter total of 128 cases. 17 However, when the findings were discussed with Defendants, the company told us that it had reviewed the same data and saw no signal of a safety issue that needed to be addressed FDA clinical reviewers have stated that rivaroxaban should not be approved unless the manufacturer conducts further studies to support the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban and the FDA website notes that [a]dverse event reports of thrombocytopenia and venous thromboembolic events were identified in relationship to Xarelto. 19 However, this information was not portrayed in the warning section on the warning label. 15 at at at at

20 87. The lack of efficacy of the medication for patients taking Xarelto after hip and knee surgery was not disclosed, resulting in patients ingesting Xarelto and physicians prescribing Xarelto without sufficient information to make an accurate decision concerning the use of this product. 88. Importantly, as stated herein, unlike Coumadin, there is no antidote or reversal agent for Xarelto, so in the event of bleeding complications from Xarelto use, there is no available reversal agent to counteract the anticoagulant effect of Xarelto. 89. Due to the defective nature of Xarelto, persons who were prescribed and ingested Xarelto, for even a brief period of time, including Plaintiff, were at increased risk for developing life-threatening bleeds. 90. Due to the flawed formulation of Xarelto, which according to Defendants does not require regular blood monitoring or frequent doctor follow-up, raises concerns about the risk of stroke, bleeding, and blood clots if not taken properly or absorbed properly, particularly in patients with poor renal function. 91. In addition, [p]rominent U.S. [cardiologists and health care professionals] stress that neither new drug [Xarelto] has a known antidote for a bleeding emergency, as warfarin does Defendants pharmaceutical Xarelto led to 968 suspected undesirable side-effects including 72 cases of death in Germany in just the first eight months of Ransdell Pierson. Pradaxa and Xarelto: Top Heart Doctors Concerned Over New Blood Thinners Huffpost Healthy Living. 14th June Frank Siebelt, Hans Seidenstuecker, and Christoph Steitz. Reports of side-effects from Bayer s Xarelto grow: Spiegel 20

21 93. Defendants fervently marketed Xarelto using print advertisements, online marketing on their website, and video advertisements with no regard to the accuracy and repercussions of their misleading advertising in favor of increasing sales. 94. Defendants placed more value into ensuring that their profits would continue instead of working on minimizing the serious, disabling, or fatal injuries that were occurring due to the drug they were marketing and promoting. 95. Indeed, their marketing efforts were successful, as Defendants boast that Xarelto has been prescribed to more than ten million people around the world to help treat or reduce their risk of dangerous clots. According to Defendants Xarelto website, Xarelto is the most prescribed blood thinner in its class in the US As a result of Defendants intense marketing, [a]bout 130,000 U.S. prescriptions were written for Xarelto in the first three months of 2012 resulting in large profits as Xarelto costs approximately $3,000 a year versus $200 for generic warfarin Similarly, as a result of Defendant s extreme marketing tactics within the United Kingdom, Defendants also made 219 million Euros in sales from Xarelto, more than three times as much as during the same period last year Defendants concealed their knowledge that Xarelto can cause life threatening, irreversible bleeds from Plaintiff, other consumers, the general public, and the medical community including Plaintiff s prescribing physicians. 22 https://www.xarelto-us.com/how-xarelto-works 23 Ransdell Pierson. Pradaxa and Xarelto: Top Heart Doctors Concerned Over New Blood Thinners Huffpost Healthy Living. 14th June Frank Siebelt, Hans Seidenstuecker, and Christoph Steitz. Reports of side-effects from Bayer s Xarelto grow: Spiegel 21

22 99. Indeed, the Defendants did not properly warn of the irreversible nature of Xarelto in the Warnings and Precautions section of the products warning label. The only warnings provided by Defendants were as follows: 100. Specifically, Defendants did not adequately inform Plaintiff, other consumers, the general public, and the medical community including Plaintiff s prescribing physicians, 22

23 about the risks of uncontrollable bleeds associated with Xarelto usage, nor did Defendants warn or otherwise advise on how to intervene and stabilize a patient should a bleed occur The original U.S. label approved when the drug was first marketed in the U.S. did not contain a warning regarding the lack of antidote, but rather merely mentioned this extremely important fact in the overdosage section As seen in the Full Prescribing Information provided by Defendants, Defendants reveal that they did not test for all the possible reversal agents for this dangerous drug since [a] specific antidote for rivaroxaban is not available and [u]se of procoagulant reversal agents such as prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC), activated prothrombin complex concentrate (APCC), or recombinant factorvlla (rfvlla) may be considered but has not been evaluated in clinical trials. However, this is buried in small print Even in the Warnings and Precautions section of the August 2013 Highlights of Prescribing Information, the irreversible nature of the medication Xarelto was not revealed to patients or their prescribing doctors. 23

24 104. Defendants merely indicated that there was a risk for bleeding and side-stepped the important issue of reversing the effects of Xarelto should a bleed occur as seen below: 105. Defendants boxed warning did not address the increased risk for serious and fatal bleeding, despite the fact that the information listed on their website originating from the Rocket AF clinical trial sponsored by Defendants state that in comparison to warfarin, patients taking Xarelto have more gastrointestinal bleeds and need more transfusions. In spite of this reference regarding bleeds, the information is still wholly inadequate because this information was not conveyed in the boxed warning on the Xarelto label Importantly, Xarelto still does not have a Black Box warning informing patients or prescribing doctors that Xarelto can cause irreversible and uncontrollable bleeds

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